Pastor Ted was the founder and senior pastor of a 14,000 member church in Colorado Springs, who, in November, was accused of homesexual sex and drug use by a male prostitute named Mike Jones. Pastor Ted immediately denied those accusations, and later admitted that many of them were true. In a letter to his church, he wrote,
“I am so sorry for the circumstances that have caused shame and embarrassment for all of you.... The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality, and I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I’ve been warring against it all of my adult life.... The accusations that have been leveled against me are not all true, but enough of them are true that I have been appropriately and lovingly removed from ministry.”
Just last month, a member of Ted’s counseling team, Tim Ralph, stated that Ted Haggard is “completely heterosexual.”
Tonight, we’re beginning a series on Untouchables. Over the next 3 weeks we’ll be discussing some tough topics, and tonight, we’re talking about homosexuality. (clip from Dawson’s Creek-jack reads poem)
I met Brad when I was working at Chili’s. He was a bartender, and I was a server. We had a casual relationship, and I guess I considered us friends, but it started to get weird when Brad would start hitting on me at work. He would ask me to hang out afterwards, and would sometimes walk by and touch me, and it was awkward. It wasn’t long after that that I realized that Brad was gay. I told him I was a Christian, and even though we were friends, he would make fun of me. He’d make snide remarks about Jesus that weren’t appropriate, and honestly offensive, but I still tried to witness to him. I’d tell him that Jesus loves him, and has a plan for his life, but he didn’t care. He knew about Jesus, but was happy with his alternative lifestyle. After I quit that job, I never saw Brad again. I had hoped that he found Jesus, but I suppose that I’ll never know.
I had made up my mind about homosexuals. There’s much debate about whether or not they are born that way, or if it’s wrong to be a homosexual, or even if you can be a “Christian” homosexual. Hopefully, we can help you make up your mind, by getting into what the Bible has to say, but before we get to that, let’s define homosexual. A homosexual is “noun1. someone who practices homosexuality; having a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex.” This is not the same as someone who believe they are actually a person of the opposite sex. That’s called gender identity disorder. Gender identity disorder (also known as transsexualism) is a condition in which a person has strong and persistent cross-gender identification as defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). That is, the person experiences feelings that he or she is, or should be, the other sex. These feelings are of sufficient intensity to cause clinically significant distress or social impairment. The disorder occurs in males and females and is independent of sexual orientation. The status of this disorder is in flux. Sex change through sexual reassignment surgery, hormonal treatment, and lifestyle change are options favored by some individuals.
I made a brief comment during our sex_ed series about Adam and Eve. God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. It’s a funny comment, but true, nonetheless. Genesis 2:18,22-24, “the Lord God said, “it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” “22Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’, for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” So, God’s plan from the beginning was for Adam to have a helper suitable for him, and so He made a woman. God didn’t make Adam to be homosexual. God created men and women to be married to each other, to become one in Christ. That means the man is enhanced and fulfilled by his wife and the wife is enhanced and fulfilled by her husband. This was and still is God’s plan for men and women.
Leviticus 18:22 Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. [NIV]
Leviticus 20:13 If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. [NIV]
The book of Leviticus contains the holiness code, as to which all people were to live by. For men to have sexual relations with another man was detestable to God. Men were men, and it was their actions that were judged. From the time this book was written in about 1440 BC, to the time Paul wrote the book of Romans in 57 A.D., God’s mind hadn’t changed. That’s almost 1500 years, and Romans 1:26-27 says, “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. [27] In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.” [NIV] God states that homosexual acts are unnatural, and that He sees them as sin, and because of that there is a penalty.
So, what is sin? Sin is rebellion against God. It is something a person chooses to do. Many homosexuals will insist that they are born “gay” or born “lesbian.” The results of debates are usually non-conclusive, so I’ll let you make your own decision on that matter, but think of it this way: we are all born sinners. Psalm 51:5 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” [NIV] So, we are all born into this world as sinners and we all choose to sin. We are not all tempted in the same ways with the same sin, but we are all evil and will choose to sin in one way or another. No one can accurately pinpoint why a person has a homosexual orientation, but I believe homosexuals were born with a tendency towards homosexuality, meaning that this is an area where they are susceptible to temptation.
Let me change the sin for a moment to make my point. If I am a liar, meaning that I find it much easier to lie than to tell the truth and face the consequences of my own actions; that does not mean that I have a lying gene that causes me to lie. What it means is that I have a tendency towards lying. Or if I am hot tempered and do horrible things when I lose my temper, that does not mean that I have a hot temper gene, yet I might find it extremely hard to control my temper. Or what if my struggle is with pornography. I know that I shouldn’t look at it, but I find it hard to control those urges, and I’m easily tempted. There are some factors that most likely caused me to struggle with that sin, but I wasn’t born with that struggle.
Likewise, there are some factors that would increase the likelihood of someone becoming homosexual.
Psychological influence: a boy might have a father who is distant, detached, or even hostile, and a mother who is overly warm, possessive and controlling. He will feel a rejection of his father, and it may plant seeds of fear and a longing for closeness to a male figure. Mom’s smothering ways may hinder him from establishing a complete male identity. This theory hasn’t been proved as a cause, but it’s a common view that it may play a factor in someone being homosexual.
Social Influence: according to some people, young people will learn their sexual behavior through social interaction. As those who realize they are homosexual have interacted with others, they may been conditioned to respond sexually with those of the same sex, producing an inclination towards a gay orientation.
Early Seduction: In some cases, those who have been sexually abused by a member of the same sex may develop homosexual patterns. When you’re a child, you don’t really know if it’s right to have sexual attraction towards members of the same sex or not. Since, a kid may not know what’s going on, that homosexual experience may be a reinforcer of sexual expression.
These are just factors, and play a part in someone becoming gay or lesbian. Here’s the problem: Homosexuality is viewed by God as sin, but God loves sinners, right? Can a person be a homosexual and be a Christian? Well, I’m glad you asked. Let’s look at what 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders [10] nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”[NIV] Paul says that specifically those who are sexually immoral in the areas of adultery, prostitution, and homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God, yet in verse 11 he states that “that is what some of you were,” implying that homosexuals can be set free, and sanctified and justified by Jesus, because He covers their sin. Will they immediately become a straight person once they are saved? Not exactly. Just like the Christian who struggles with pornography, or lying, or anger, it will be a struggle for them. God condemns the homosexual ACTIONS, and not homosexuals, so homosexuals can be Christians, but one would have to wonder if they continue to practice homosexuality with no remorse or will to change if the homosexual is truly a Christian. A homosexual cannot be a Christian if he/she chooses to continue to defy God’s moral standards by practicing homosexuality. They may have an attraction to the same sex, but they are to remain celibate-meaning they should not be having sex with the same gender. 1 John 3:4-10 says, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”
So, how would God want us to treat homosexuals? Matthew 10:5 (The Message) Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge: "Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.” Jesus is saying here, something that is so powerful. Love those that need to be loved. Touch those that need to be touched. What’s the worst that could happen if we reach out in love?
Let me wrap up with a story on how Jesus treated those who were “untouchable.”
Matthew 8: 2A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
Leprosy was an awful, awful disease that infected the skin. It’s a disease that would cause the skin to peel off, and many times cause paralysis, and parts of the body would fall off. Take a look at some of these pictures of the disease. This was a very contagious disease as well. If you were to touch someone with this disease, you would be considered unclean as well. The law of Moses, stated strict rules about those infected.
Leviticus 13:45-46, “the person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hari be unkempt, cover the lower part of the face and cry out, ‘unclean! Unclean!’ As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.”
But, look at what Jesus did. “3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured[b] of his leprosy.”
Jesus was a man who accepted people for who they are. He reached out and touched the man with this horrible disease. He touch someone who would be considered untouchable, and he healed him.
If we are to treat homosexuals the way Jesus would want us to, then we have to accept them for who they are. Now I want to be very clear on something. We talked about how homosexuality is sin. Acceptance does not equal tolerance. We are to accept them for who they are, yet we can’t tolerate the lifestyle that they choose to live. It’s God’s desire that all those who sin should come to faith in God. And he makes it very clear that we’re all sinners. Although, some of our sins may not be visible, we all mess up, and God wants us to repent. Some of you may be struggling with your sexuality. Some of you may have a different struggle of your own, and some of you may need to repent for treating and thinking about homosexuals in such a negative way. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9, “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
(Invitation) If tonight, you’d like to repent and accept Jesus for the first time, then we want to give you a chance to do that. Just go ahead and repeat after me, “jesus, i believe that you died for my sins, and I admit that I’ve messed up and been living life for myself. I want to surrender my life to you, and enter into a life of living for your purposes. Would you come to my rescue, and save me from my sin. Amen” If you said that prayer and believed it in your heart, then we believe you’ve been born again, and have a new life in Christ. Now if you’ve been struggling with some other form of sin, and you feel like you need to resurrender your life to God, go ahead and take some time to recommit yourself in the quietness of these moments.
